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Maria Varaki

Dr Maria Varaki

Lecturer in International Law

  • Co-Director of the War Crimes Research Group

Research interests

  • Conflict
  • Law
  • Security

Contact details

Biography

Dr Maria Varaki is a lecturer in international law at the War Studies Department, King's College London. Before moving to London, she was a senior research fellow with the Erik Castren Institute of International Law and Human Rights in Helsinki, working on an Aristotelian theory of ethics for global governance. Immediate before, she was an Assistant Professor in International Law at Kadir Has University, Faculty of Law in Istanbul. Before joining Kadir Has University, she was a post-doctoral fellow at the Law Faculty of Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a visiting fellow at the iCourts Centre of the University of Copenhagen.

She holds a PhD in International Criminal Law from the Irish Centre for Human Rights in Galway, Ireland and two LLM degrees in International and Comparative Law, one from Tulane University, School of Law and one from New York University, School of Law. Additionally, she has worked for the OHCHR in Geneva, the UNHCR in New York and the Legal Advisory section of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Since November 2017, she is a member of the ILA Committee on human rights in times of emergency.

Research

  • Public International Law
  • International Criminal Law
  • International Human Rights Law
  • International Courts and Tribunals
  • International Refugee Law
  • Legal Theory, Moral Philosophy

Teaching

  • International Law and War
  • Law, Ethics and Human Rights
  • Law and Conflict in International Society
  • International Law, Human Rights and Intervention

Indicative Publications

  • "International Law in Europe and Realism" co-authored with Prof. Shany in Oxford Handbook In International Law in Europe, 2023.
  • "Revisiting the 'crisis' of International Law" in L. Gruszczynski, M. Menkes, V. Bilkova & P. Farah (eds.), The Crisis of Multilateral Legal Order: Causes, Dynamics and Implications, Routledge, London-New York: 2022. 
  • 'Ethical Leadership in International Organizations: Concepts, Narratives, Judgment and Assessment, Varaki, M. & Vasconcelos Vilaca, (eds.) CUP, 2021. 
  • Quest for Phronesis in Holy Land, in Towards Responsible Global Governance, Klabbers, J. (ed.), Varaki, M. (ed.) & Vasconcelos Vilaca, G. (ed.), 2018, Helsinki: University of Helsinki. 
  • "Revisiting the 'Interests of Justice' Policy Paper" 15 Journal of International Criminal Justice 3 (2017). 
  • "Introducing a fairness based theory of prosecutorial legitimacy before the International Criminal Court" 27 European Journal of International Law 3 (2016).

Dr Maria Varaki PURE Profile. 

Research

war-studies-wire-hero-1903x558
War Crimes Research Group

Conducting research and teaching on war crimes (broadly conceived) and war.

ESRChero
Environmental Security research group

The Environmental Security research group brings together scholars from the security community and scholars working on issues of environmental security.

Events

15Jan

The International Law on the Use of Force: Current Developments

Delve into the evolving challenges of international law on the use of force with Sir Michael Wood KC this January at King’s College London

27Nov

The Security Council and Judicial Intervention in Ukraine and Israel/Gaza

Examine the role of international law in addressing modern conflicts at this roundtable with leading legal scholars and practitioners.

Please note: this event has passed.

12Feb

International Law-Making in Cyberspace

Explore how international law adapts to the challenges of emerging cyber technologies with insights from Professor Milanovic.

14Nov

Four Puzzles of Aggression and Accountability

This webinar will explore four critical puzzles regarding the crime of aggression, focusing on its moral implications, accountability, and the challenges of...

Please note: this event has passed.

23Oct

Complementarity and Cooperation at the International Criminal Court

Get detailed insights from Professor René Urueña as he unpacks the innovations, challenges, and opportunities of the ICC’s new Policy on Complementarity and...

Please note: this event has passed.

05Nov

Developments in the legal framework protecting the environment in relation to armed conflict

Explore key legal developments in protecting the environment during armed conflict and the push to criminalize ecocide.

Please note: this event has passed.

19Nov

Crisis Management in Ukraine and the OSCE Moscow Mechanism

Join Prof Veronika Bílková as she explores the OSCE Moscow Mechanism and its unique role in managing crises, including Russia's war against Ukraine.

Please note: this event has passed.

09Oct

What does it mean for an AI-enabled means or methods of warfare to comply with the laws of war?

Join Professor Nehal Bhuta as he explores the challenges of legally reviewing AI-enabled weapons to ensure compliance with International Humanitarian Law.

Please note: this event has passed.

25Apr

The Power of International Law

This talk will examine the different ways in which international law as a professional language, a set of institutions and practices, frames and informs the...

Please note: this event has passed.

15Mar

Negotiating within the Fog of War

Publication of his book ‘Negotiating with the Devil’ by Pierre Hazan.

Please note: this event has passed.

Features

What do the rules of war tell us about the deliberate targeting of civilians in Ukraine?

MARIA VARAKI: How can international law prevent civilian suffering during war?

Ukraine-C-Mike-Herbst-1

How has Russia violated international law?

MARIA VARAKI: The dramatic events of the last few days fundamentally challenge the basic premises of the international legal order as we know it

twisted gun

Research

war-studies-wire-hero-1903x558
War Crimes Research Group

Conducting research and teaching on war crimes (broadly conceived) and war.

ESRChero
Environmental Security research group

The Environmental Security research group brings together scholars from the security community and scholars working on issues of environmental security.

Events

15Jan

The International Law on the Use of Force: Current Developments

Delve into the evolving challenges of international law on the use of force with Sir Michael Wood KC this January at King’s College London

27Nov

The Security Council and Judicial Intervention in Ukraine and Israel/Gaza

Examine the role of international law in addressing modern conflicts at this roundtable with leading legal scholars and practitioners.

Please note: this event has passed.

12Feb

International Law-Making in Cyberspace

Explore how international law adapts to the challenges of emerging cyber technologies with insights from Professor Milanovic.

14Nov

Four Puzzles of Aggression and Accountability

This webinar will explore four critical puzzles regarding the crime of aggression, focusing on its moral implications, accountability, and the challenges of...

Please note: this event has passed.

23Oct

Complementarity and Cooperation at the International Criminal Court

Get detailed insights from Professor René Urueña as he unpacks the innovations, challenges, and opportunities of the ICC’s new Policy on Complementarity and...

Please note: this event has passed.

05Nov

Developments in the legal framework protecting the environment in relation to armed conflict

Explore key legal developments in protecting the environment during armed conflict and the push to criminalize ecocide.

Please note: this event has passed.

19Nov

Crisis Management in Ukraine and the OSCE Moscow Mechanism

Join Prof Veronika Bílková as she explores the OSCE Moscow Mechanism and its unique role in managing crises, including Russia's war against Ukraine.

Please note: this event has passed.

09Oct

What does it mean for an AI-enabled means or methods of warfare to comply with the laws of war?

Join Professor Nehal Bhuta as he explores the challenges of legally reviewing AI-enabled weapons to ensure compliance with International Humanitarian Law.

Please note: this event has passed.

25Apr

The Power of International Law

This talk will examine the different ways in which international law as a professional language, a set of institutions and practices, frames and informs the...

Please note: this event has passed.

15Mar

Negotiating within the Fog of War

Publication of his book ‘Negotiating with the Devil’ by Pierre Hazan.

Please note: this event has passed.

Features

What do the rules of war tell us about the deliberate targeting of civilians in Ukraine?

MARIA VARAKI: How can international law prevent civilian suffering during war?

Ukraine-C-Mike-Herbst-1

How has Russia violated international law?

MARIA VARAKI: The dramatic events of the last few days fundamentally challenge the basic premises of the international legal order as we know it

twisted gun